Stratco an artist based in Berlin has created Cross Stitched for this months exhibition. The Notice Board which is curated around the question The land of the free? enables us to ponder what ‘free’ means by way of artists responses. In this instance Stratco freely experiments with materials to undermine and free a tradition. While also challenging us to consider the states the people pictured find themselves in.
Stratco said: the reason for working with portraits is that there are so many details to be transformed. Plus they represent visible human expressions, while thoughts & feelings are trying to be hidden. They are the perfect symbol for the idea of “Radical constructivism”. A theory which has inspired me from my early beginnings. It states “Reality is not given or binding, but an individual construction made by the human brain(s)”. The collage technique is a perfect way to mirror the individual de- and reconstruction of sense and meaning. I don’t like any labels and I never thought about making “collages”. I’m just using existing material to create different kinds of reality. Alternative acts …
I’m working 100% analogue which means: I’m exclusively using vintage magazines (their style and colours are superior to all modern stuff). And I’m solely using manual techniques and tools for transforming the pieces. The techniques are a means to the end – but in turn, the quality of your works depends heavily on your ability to almost perfectly master the process of cutting and pasting. The balancing of the technical and compositional dimension is the biggest challenge.
I get the inspiration from all kinds of visual formats. Be it art, movies, advertisements, record and magazine cover, etc. In most of the cases I already have a quite clear idea about the transformational direction before making the first cut. Nevertheless, the actually resulting “look and feel” is always work in progress, a certain deviation from the original plan is an indispensable part of the program.
I have chosen not to fly a flag. For many reasons given these times. The symbol of an empty flagpole is the best answer
Stratco is onInstagram @stratco